What might happen now we've decided to leave the European Union?

The United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union. In a 48%/52% split, the population has decided that we will no longer be a part of the social, cultural and economical union we have been a member of since 1973.

But what the hell is going to happen now? Will £350 million a week be plunged into the NHS as promised by the Leave campaign? Will we be richer? Will we be poorer? Will there be more jobs? Will house prices go up or down?

The short answer is that nobody quite knows.

While the British pound has already plummeted to the lowest it's been in 31 years, the Bank of England has promised to safeguard financial security. But here's a look at some of the other potential implications of our withdrawal from the EU...

The country will make an immediate saving

Being in the EU wasn't free; in fact it was far from it. According to the independent body IFS, Britain paid £11.3 billion (yup, billion) towards the European Union's budget in 2014. In return, we 'made' approximately £5.6 billion back with EU spending directly on us, so effectively it cost us around £5.7 billion to secure our place, which works out at 24 pence per person per day.

Now that we're bowing out, we will make an immediate saving (which can theoretically be spent on other things like healthcare), but it's not entirely clear whether we as a country will lose out financially in the long run with extra costs incurred for trading, for example, that we haven't previously had to pay.

House prices could rise

Much of the reasoning behind the petition to leave the European Union was based on our immigration policy, with many feeling unhappy about the number of fellow Europeans who come to the UK to work. Many of the jobs that these immigrants do, however, are laborious jobs such as builders, which they carry out for a low cost. If these immigrants are no longer allowed in the country to work at these rates, the cost of property-building labour could increase, as could the value of houses across the whole market.

Countering this however, it's been argued that now we're leaving the EU, we could clamp down on immigration with a 'points policy' similar to Australia or America. This could cause our growth in population to slow down, meaning housing wouldn't be so in demand and the market prices may reduce.

The 'immigration issue' might not actually get solved

Although data from the Office for National Statistics indicates that there are almost 1 million eastern Europeans, Romanians and Bulgarians working (and therefore paying taxes) in the UK, plus almost 800,000 western Europeans; there are actually more workers in the country who come from outside the EU. There's 2.93m people from the likes of China and India living and working in the UK (all contributing tax, we should add).

And it's not like us leaving the EU now means we can boot the European immigrants out – that would be infinitely unfair, so they'll all have leave to remain in the country for the time being. Which means leaving the EU probably won't actually solve the 'issue' many believe needs addressed.

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You might have to kiss goodbye to that ski season

Or any plans to work or study abroad in an EU country, for that matter. The European Union's 'free movement of people' policy allowed us to live and work in any other member state, which meant we could spend a few months working in the French Alps at the drop of a hat if we fancied. But that right may well disappear now we've opted out of the Union unless we start negotiating.

Having said that, study abroad schemes such as Erasmus - although primarily interlinked with fellow EU countries - also include a number of countries outside the Union. So these negotiations could be possible.

Holidays will be more expensive

We've got the EU to thank for low-cost airlines, after it implemented rules to encourage competitive pricing, causing fares to drop by 40%. Our membership also entitled us to free healthcare in EU countries, plus compensation if something goes wrong with our flight, which we'll no longer have.

But it's not just that; with the value of the British pound having dropped by 10% overnight (to put it in perspective, a 1% fluctuation is considered massive where currency is concerned) it means we'll be paying a lot more for our foreign currency when we go abroad. Whereas you'd have received around US$1.50 for your £1 if you'd bought it last week, you'd only get about $1.30 now, which is a big drop.

Then there's the possible visa issue. As part of the EU we were freely able to move in and out of European Union countries without a visa thanks to our British passports. There's no telling exactly what each country will require of us for entry, but we might have to pay for visas if we wanted to visit the likes of Spain, France and Italy, just like we do to visit America and Turkey at the moment. So long, cheap, last-minute holidays.

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Oh yeah, and so will lots of other things

The EU is what we call a 'single market', meaning there are no extra costs imposed on imports and exports of products between member states. It's a bit like having a staff discount, and is the reason the likes of strawberries, tomatoes and avocados haven't cost a complete bomb when not in season over here previously.

Now we're leaving this single market, we'll likely have to pay a lot more to buy and sell products with other countries, meaning things will cost us a packet more, too. Plus, British farmers who receive millions in subsidies from the EU will also feel the loss. Prior to the referendum, economists in the Treasury predicted that leaving the EU would make us worse off by roughly £4,300 per household in Britain by 2030.

But having said that, some of Britain's best trading relationships are with countries outside the EU, such as the USA and Switzerland, and that's done us no harm so far. In theory, our exiting the EU might actually encourage us to engage in trade partnerships with a wider range of countries, which could be a good thing in the long run.

We might get paid more

There's a concern that the decision to leave the EU will now cost 3 million Brits working in trade their jobs, although this hasn't actually been confirmed. Plus, if immigration does reduce, that would theoretically free up a load of jobs for British citizens. According to the former Marks & Spencer chief executive, Stuart Rose, Brexit could also cause wages to rise. Which is great for us; but not so much for the employers who have to pay us.

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Gender equality rights may be in jeopardy

As a result of our place in the EU, the government was forced to abide by a number of gender equality laws for working women, which tackled gender discrimination and fought against income inequality. From maternity leave and work protections during pregnancy, to rules preventing harassment and unequal treatment at work, women in Britain have the EU to thank. Although we'd like to think our British government would implement similar legislation now we're leaving the EU, there's no guarantees that this will happen. And even if it does, many aren't confident that women's rights will be anywhere near the top of the agenda.

Having said that, some people argue that the EU isn't as great for women's rights as it claims to be. For instance, the basic EU regulation for maternity leave is 14 weeks, whereas in the UK basic maternity rights are 39 weeks, usually at a higher rate than sick pay.

Duty free perks will be no more

Returning holiday-makers from an EU country are allowed to bring back more or less as much booze and as many cigarettes as they fancy. But there are strict rules enforced for non-EU countries; just 4 litres of wine, 2 litres of sparkling wine, and 16 litres of beer. Ah well.

Priorities

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We'll have more sovereignty

As it stands, the European Commission – an unelected body – proposes all EU legislation that we have been bound to abide by. This is seen as undemocratic because we have not voted for any of the people suggesting these important decisions (which it does in secret). Having said that, all final decisions regarding EU legislation must be authorised by the 751-strong European Parliament; 73 of which were British politicians, who we ourselves elected.

Many people believe that restoring sovereignty, and allowing our country to live under the rules we decide as opposed to a European body will make for a better way of life.

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